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The Lodger on tour!

The Lodger recently had his first school tour. The week leading up to the much-anticpated school tour started with an unexplained bout of challenging behaviour.

The Lodger went back to school after his midterm break on Monday. He didn’t have the best day, a bit tired, a little bit oppositional, but we put it down to back to school feelings (and I kept my fingers crossed that he wasn't getting sick!)

Tuesday continued in the same breath! I was perplexed as he was fine at home, his usual happy Lodger self! I had a chat with his teacher and SNA after school and no light was shared but we decided maybe it was school tour excitement??

That was until, Tuesday evening and myself and the lodger were having a little chat about things using my “I’m not trying to find out anything but really I am” strategy.... and for some unknown reason, he had gotten it into his head that he wouldn’t be having snack or lunch on his school tour.

Alarm bells rang, Take a breath! You think you have all bases covered and them BOOM, you are walloped by a completely unexpected statement from your five-year-old with PWS.

Imagine that as a person with PWS.. you’re excited about this thing called a school tour and it features a farm, your highlight, but you think you won’t get to eat anything after breakfast and until afternoon snack. Just imagine how The Lodger was feeling, completely overwhelmed... 'I love school and I love the sound of a school tour and everyone’s excited for it, so I should be too but no food!?'... It was no wonder he was punishing school!

It further highlighted to me the point that for a person with PWS, food is stress!

As much as he loves food, food is also the biggest cause of anxiety and stress for him.

A normal day to day, all fine but a day of unexpected routine altering, anxiety overload.

I reassured him. Dad reassured him. The following morning his SNA reassured him. Everyone reassured him. The SNA went through the whole plan of the tour, what was happening and had the “now next later” plan in place.

Sos and Lón (break and lunch) were to be combined but I just knew that would cause too much stress for the Lodger. He wouldn’t be able to enjoy himself, as he’d be waiting all day for lunch, it would be the only thing he’d be able to focus on and think about, so he had his sos on the bus!

And then Friday arrived, the morning of the tour... and he woke up with his list of rules for me....

"Mum is sos on the bus packed?

Is my Lunch packed?

I need Tracksuit on.

I need Runners on

Mum, No school bag

Mum, No lunch bag

Is my lunch in a plastic bag"

How did he get on??

He LOVED it! The whole weekend we listened to the story of the tour, from the old house, to the farm, to the farm train and the bus..... and very unlike the Lodger, the food didn't take centre stage, so it really must've been a hit!

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